This investigation examined the effects of authentic Francophone web sites on cultural learning at the intermediate level. Fifty-four students "surfed" eight web sites. A pre-posttest design assessed long-term gains in culture and the learning of practices, products, and perspectives from exposure to a curriculum with Internet activities. Eight…

Popular belief in alternative assessment procedures suggests that the use of student portfolios can help learners successfully organize and integrate newly acquired scientific knowledge. This two-group comparison study documents the use of student created portfolios in an algebra-based, college-level, introductory physics course. Sixteen students…

Cognitive changes in college students from early in the freshman year to the end of the sophomore year were assessed using a pretest-posttest design. In all, 135 university students completed both a pretest and a posttest. The academic achievement measure used was the College Basic Academic Subjects Examination (CBASE), a test intended to assess…

The problem of a high percentage of third grade students with poor study skills was addressed through a computer program designed to teach these skills. Parent participation was an important component of the program as it has been shown that parental involvement has a positive effect on student achievement and success at school. A motivational…

Part of a larger project, "Technology, Educational Media & Materials--Assessing the Social and Cultural Impact of Group-Based, Videodisc Math Instruction in Mainstreamed Classrooms," this study addressed the question of whether the level of student achievement differs across levels of implementation of a mediated program that is based on a…

For 17 years, the Fort Worth Independent School District has offered full-day prekindergarten for educationally disadvantaged children residing in Chapter I attendance areas. During the 1984-85 academic year, the program was offered to 1,936 children who were four years old prior to September 1, 1984 and scored seven or fewer items correct on the…

This study investigated the relationship between learner attitudes (self-efficacy and anxiety), students' selection of feedback containing different amounts of information (no feedback, correct answer, the explanation alone, and the answer with an explanation), and achievement. Subjects were two clusters of college students (N=49) enrolled in a…

A study was conducted in Cuyahoga Community College's (Ohio) Principles of Economics classes to determine: (1) whether microcomputer-assisted instruction using tutorial/drill programs would significantly increase students' learning of economic concepts as measured by pre- and post-tests; (2) the relationship between demographic variables and pre-…

This report evaluated the fourth year of operation (1985-1986) of the Chapter 2 All-Day Kindergarten Program. The goals of this program were that the children attending show growth in reading readiness, acquisition of number concepts, and affective development. Principal findings note that (1) attendance rates were higher than citywide…

This study examined the effects of an advance organizer and background experience in science on the attainment of science concepts. Ninth-grade earth science students (N=90) were given the Dubbins Earth Science Test (DEST) and a Science Background Experience Inventory (SBEI) developed by the author. They were then placed into high, medium, and low…

A 1979 external evaluation of the Eckerd Wilderness Educational System (a series of 9 residential, therapeutic camps for disturbed youth in 3 eastern states) drew data from 3 sources: records of the first 1,385 youth entered into the camps from 1968 through November 1979, test results from the most recent 157 clients who completed both entry and…

To eliminate maturation as a factor in the pretest-posttest design, pretest scores can be converted to anticipate posttest scores using grade equivalent scores from standardized tests. This conversion, known as historical regression, assumes that without specific intervention, growth will continue at the rate (grade equivalents per year of…

Two types of sensitivity indices were developed in this paper, one internal to the total test and the second external. To evaluate the success of these statistics the three criteria suggested for a satisfactory index of item quality were considered. The Internal Sensitivity Index appears to meet these demands. Certainly it is easily computed. In…

Describes an investigation of time as a learner variable in an individualized mode of health instruction where time was permitted to vary, hypothesizing that aptitude as measured by a standardized test could correlate more closely with time in instruction than with achievement where students were expected to reach criterion levels. (MBR)

Describes a study which compared the achievement of undergraduate economics students receiving instruction by two different television presentations, one depicting an instructor using a chalkboard, and the other employing animation and graphics. Results indicate differences occurred in immediate and delayed recall measurements on conceptual…